Dear Dharma protectors and friends, Auspicious greetings! “In everyhome a new day dawns; old peach wood charms are replaced anew.” 2019 is theYear of the Pig. Of the twelve zodiac signs, the pig symbolizes a way to roundup the year and start a new beginning of life. For this year’s One-Stroke Calligraphyspring couplet, Venerable Master Hsing Yun writes “Always Well-rounded andAuspicious,” wishing everyone perfect ease in body and mind. Under the care ofhis Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital medical team, Venerable Master hasrecovered well from his craniotomy two years ago. At 92 years old, VenerableMaster says, “I am not in pain, nor am I sick. I am only slightlyinconvenienced.” Concerned about Cross-Strait peace and the development ofHumanistic Buddhism, Venerable Master says, “I need to work harder.” As it israre to encounter the Buddha’s teachings and have such a great Dharma teacher,both monastic and lay disciples should strive vigorously to follow in VenerableMaster’s footsteps of propagating Humanistic Buddhism. As a part of his recovery,Venerable Master continues to write One-Stroke Calligraphy to build affinitiesand support outstanding but underprivileged students in the Seeds of HopeProgram. His “One-Stroke Calligraphy: Post-Recovery Works” is exhibited at theLight Transmission Building in Fo Guang Shan Headquarters, Tianlong Temple inNanjing, and Liyang Museum. It is hoped that many will show their support inchanging the lives of students from the remote areas of Taiwan, India,Philippines, Brazil, and South Africa through education, so they may becomefuture leaders of society and their countries.

Propagating the DharmaThrough Buddhist Art and Music

As art and culture have no boundaries, VenerableMaster has used literature to promote Buddhism throughout his life. This isevident from the stone inscriptions of Venerable Master’s One StrokeCalligraphy at the Sutra Repository, which convey the essence of HumanisticBuddhism. Former President Ma YingJeou praised during his visit, “VenerableMaster Hsing Yun’s One-Stroke Calligraphy is the best interpretation of modernBuddhist scripture.” Moreover, the Sutra Repository also holds “One-StrokeCalligraphy―A Meeting of Dharma” on a regular basis, receiving devotees fromall walks of life. Cultural, educational, and artistic Dharma propagationendeavors have flourished at the FGS Buddha Museum under the united effort ofDirector Venerable Ru Chang and Deputy Directors Ven. Yi Run, Ven. Yung Rong,Ven. Yung Jun, Ven. Ru Yuan, and Ven. You Xian. In January, representatives ofthe Buddha Museum met with the British Library in London to discusscollaborative plans on a digital database of the Fo Guang Buddhist Canon andthe Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts, as well as exhibition exchanges. In March,Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s One-Stroke Calligraphy Exhibition was held at theEuropean Parliament in Brussels. Former Prime Minister of Slovenia, LojzePeterle, and Hungary EU Representative Adam Kosa, participated in the openingceremony. Fraser Cameron, director of EU-Asia Centre in Belgium, praised thatHumanistic Buddhism, as propagated by Venerable Master, aligns with theEuropean Parliament’s emphasis on peace and harmony. In May, the Buddha Museumco-organized the “Walking with the Buddha: Discovering the Natal Landscape ofthe Buddha Exhibition” with Durham University and the Oriental Museum from theUK. The exhibition concerns the latest archaeological findings at LumbiniGarden, the birthplace of the Buddha. An international academic conference wasalso held, attended by archaeologists from several countries. In order topromote the internationalization of Buddhist education, Fo Guang ShanInternational University Consortium’s Chief President Yung Chaur-shin andNanhua University President Lin Tsong-Ming, as well as Ven. Chueh Yuen and Ven.Chueh Yu collaborated for the third University Presidents Forum in November.126 university presidents and scholars from 17 countries, representing 46institutions, established a resourcesharing platform for Buddhist universities.Venerable Master attended the forum, sending his regards through Buddhistsongs, such as the “Song of Ten Cultivation and Practices,” “Cloud Lake Song,”and “Verse of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva’s Vows.” As music is highlighted byVenerable Master as a skillful means to propagate the Dharma, Buddha Museuminvited the Jiangsu Performing Arts Group to perform the opera Eastward SeaVoyage of Jianzhen. Likewise, Siddhartha: The Musical from the Philippines,toured the United States, performing in various cities including New York. Thepropagation of Dharma through music has enhanced exchanges between theCross-Strait as well as the East and West. Ensuring the Continuity of TalentsThrough Ceaseless Effort in Education The Three Acts of Goodness Campaign is inits 20th year. Venerable Master encourages Fo Guang members to spread joy,peace, and auspiciousness to the world, building a society on the Three Acts ofGoodness. With the efforts of Guang Ming College President Dr. Helena Correa,Ven. Yung Guang and Ven. Miao Jing, the Three Acts of Goodness Campaign hasbeen promoted in over a hundred schools in the Philippines. Moreover, GuangMing College celebrated its inaugural graduation of 27 students, who will nowbegin a new chapter in their lives. The combined efforts of Nan Tien InstitutePresident, Dr. Bill Lovegrove, Ven. Man Ko, Ven. Jue Fang, and Ven. Jue Wei hasenabled Nan Tien Institute to offer a graduate program on Applied BuddhistStudies as well as a graduate certificate program in Humanistic Buddhism, bothaccredited by the Department of Education in Australia. Humanistic Buddhism isnow officially included as part of the Australian education system, a newbeginning in higher education worldwide. Additionally, Nanhua University wasawarded the National Sustainable Development Award, the highest honor of alldevelopment quality awards. Furthermore, University of the West’snew President Otto Chang joined the Fo Guang Shan education team.

There is no time to lose when it comes to fostering talent. Apartfrom the FGS Institute of Humanistic Buddhism, Nan Tien Institute, ChineseUniversity of Hong Kong, University of the West in USA, Nanhua University, andFo Guang University have all respectively established a center devoted to theresearch on Humanistic Buddhism under Venerable Tzu Hui’s guidance inpropagating the Dharma through international academia.

The Short-Term Monastic Study Program held in the Sutra Repositoryoffers a chance for all monastic disciples serving in different parts of theworld to return to the monastery to further their understanding of HumanisticBuddhism. Youth Buddhist Academies established in branch temples globally, aswell as the Dajue Cultural Training Program, have strengthened the number oftalented young students entering Fo Guang Shan Tsung Lin University. Likewise,the 16 Buddhist colleges worldwide are also tireless in their efforts offostering talents. Over 50 scholarly and translated works resulting from theannual “Academic Conference on the Theory and Practice of Venerable Master HsingYun’s Humanistic Buddhism” and the “Symposium on Humanistic Buddhism” organized by Ven. Miao Fan andProfessor Cheng Gongrang have been published to date. Over a hundred scholarsacross the globe have established a consensus on Humanistic Buddhism. It is asVenerable Master said, “Propagating Humanistic Buddhism is the future ofBuddhism and also a light in the world.”

Full of gratitude for the Buddha’s kindness, Venerable Masterpreviously travelled eight times to India with the wish of reviving Buddhism there.Under the efforts of Ven. Hui Xian and Ng Chin Poh Jiaoshi (a layman who livesthe monastic life), nearly a hundred novices from FGS Cultural and EducationalCenter at New Delhi have excelled and are now furthering their studies. Forexample, Cheng Guang and Cheng Jie are currently at Nanjing University; ChengTi, Cheng Liang, and Cheng Jia are at Fo Guang University; Cheng Fa, Cheng Fu,and Cheng Pu are at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University in Thailand.Furthermore, students from FGS Institute of Buddhist Studies in Bodhgaya havebrought the Three Acts of Goodness to Indian society through the Under the BigTree program with the guidance of Ven. Miao Xuan, receiving recognition fromthe local people.

With Venerable Master’s encouragement, Ven. Jue Cheng led Fo Guangmembers in founding the Fo Guang Hope Village and held a refuge ceremony inChennai, India, with the aim of bettering the villagers’ lives. Three Acts ofGoodness Schools were also founded in Sri Lanka, Darjeeling, India, and Nepal, providingeducation for youth as well as a catalyst for transforming their lives.

Enhancing the Localizationof Buddhism

Through Prajna Wisdom in Letters and Writings Bodhi seeds plantedthrough the words of prajna wisdom can take root, blossom, and bear fruiteverywhere, bringing soothing fragrance and cool breeze to this burning andirritable world.

In mid-November, Fo Guang Shan Ancestral Temple―Dajue Temple’s YunhuAcademy held a Humanistic Buddhism Sutra Study Program. Through readingVenerable Master’s True Meaning of the Dharma, students are guided tounderstand the original intents of the Buddha, which are: inspiration,education, assistance, and joy. New definitions are given to Buddhist conceptsfrom a positive and auspicious point of view.

The Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, published in 2016,now has an app in traditional Chinese, a creative collaboration between Ven.Man Kuan from Fo

Guang Cultural Enterprise and Ven. Hui Zhao from the FGS InformationSystem Center. Venerable Master compassionately directed that it be free ofcharge, hoping the Dharma water of Humanistic Buddhism will nourish people’shearts.

More elating was the launch of the Complete Works of VenerableMaster Hsing Yun and its forum in the UK’s Westminster Parliament.Concurrently, Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s One-Stroke Calligraphy Exhibitionand the Buddha’s Birthday Celebration were also held in the Parliament. ThePalace of Westminster Chairperson officially announced FGS London as the firstBuddhist partner of the UK Parliament Education Team.

The following translations of Venerable Master’s works have beenpublished: The Path to Enlightenment in Portuguese (O Caminho para aIluminação); Star and Cloud: Venerable Master Hsing Yun comic book in Japanese(人間仏教の行者); andPearls of Wisdom: Prayers for Engaged Living in Korean (부처님광명기원문). Moreover,Ven. Miao Guang and her team at the FGS Institute of Humanistic Buddhism Centerof International Affairs have collected terminology specific to HumanisticBuddhism and completed The Glossary of Humanistic Buddhism. They have also heldworkshops for English Dharma propagators in North America, accelerating theprocess of localization.

Co-organized by the Buddha Museum and the FGS Institute ofHumanistic Buddhism, the “2018 When Buddha Meets the Gods Event AcademicConference” and “Chunghua Federation of Traditional Religious AssociationsLeadership Training Seminar” was attended by experts and scholars from theCrossStraits and the Philippines, presenting research gathered from the WhenBuddha Meets the Gods Events held over the past seven years. Scholars heartilyagreed on Venerable Master’s notion of naming folk religions, some dating over2,000 years old, as Chunghua (Chinese) traditional religions. Three years ago,Venerable Master initiated the Chunghua Federation of Traditional ReligiousAssociations, with Wang Jin-Pyng

as President and Chen Chia-Lung as Secretary-Generalas a platform for interfaith and interreligious exchange. As Venerable Mastersaid, “Religions should strive for mutual understanding, but it is notnecessary to seek conformity amongst differences.

Every god and deity is a light, each shining without hindering theother.” As each religion shines in different corners of the earth, they allbring light to the human world.

Accomplishing This-WorldlyEndeavors with Other-worldly Aspiration

The fourth phase of the construction of FGS Ancestral Temple―DajueTemple at Yixing, led by Ven. Miao Shi and Ven. Miao Sheng, is drawing to anend, welcoming all to visit. Moreover, to provide quality lodging for templestaff, the Auspicious Building was completed in November by Ven. Hui Zhi,appointed by Venerable Master to oversee construction projects. Likewise, Ven.Chueh Fang and Ven. Miao Zhi also completed the reconstruction of the LanyangRen Ai Senior Citizen’s Home, with its opening held in September.

Nan Tien Bridge, connecting Nan Tien Temple and Nan Tien Institute,was inaugurated in July after seventeen years. The Premier of New South Wales,Gladys Berejiklian, and Lord Mayor of Wollongong, Gordon Bradbery, attended theevent, heralding a deeper exchange between East and West, and showed localgovernment support for Buddhist-founded education.

In the spirit of Venerable Master’s advocacy for unity between Buddhistgroups and Cross-Strait peace, the United Association of Humanistic BuddhismChunghua, founded by Buddhist groups in Taiwan, and the Buddhist Association ofChina visited Japan together for the first time―an occasion which TaishoUniversity President Otsuka Nobuo said will inevitably be recorded in theannals of Japanese Buddhist history. Concurrently, representatives from bothCross-Strait Buddhist associations cordially invited the leaders of differentJapanese Buddhist schools to attend in the inauguration of FGS Housuiji Temple.After 15 years of hard work led by Ven. Man

Run and Ven. Chueh Yung, this magnificent temple was finallycompleted. In the words of Buddhist Association of China Vice-PresidentVenerable Zhanru, “Housuiji Temple is another important milestone in thedevelopment of Chinese Buddhism in

The “Truthful, Virtuous, and Beautiful Media Award,” founded by theVenerable Master Hsing Yun Public Education Trust Fund, celebrated its tenthanniversary this year. In November, the “10th Hsing Yun Truthful, Virtuous, andBeautiful Media Forum: Opportunities and Challenges of New Age Multimedia” washeld by the commissioner of the award and founder of Global Views―CommonwealthPublishing Group, Professor Charles H.C. Kao. Past laureates Zhang Zuojin, ChenCharng-ven, Chai Song-Lin, Li Tao, Jennifer Shen, and Wang Chien-chuanggathered at Taipei Vihara to discuss the social values of the media, as well asthe challenges and opportunities that come with globalization.

In terms of propagating the Dharma through sports, our eight sportsteam have seen continuous victory under the leadership of President LaiWei-Cheng of the Three Acts of Goodness Sports Association, Ven. Hui Zhi, andVen. Hui Gong. For example, the Nanhua University Baseball Team, in its thirdyear since its founding, became the youngest team in the history of Taiwanesebaseball to compete in the Victory Baseball Cup Finals. The Pu-Men High SchoolGirls Basketball Team won the High School Basketball League (HBL) championshipfor two consecutive years. The Pu-Men High School Baseball Team won theAluminum Bat Division and runner-up in Wooden Bat Division of the High SchoolBaseball League. Victories aside, the discipline, moral values, respect, andbearing shown by these athletes are changing the culture of sports, and nowincluded as an educational goal in athletic training.

Realizing Peaceful SocietyThrough Faith and Legacy

This year, Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) membersreturned to Fo Guang Shan Headquarters to participate in the BLIA GeneralConference, showing how Humanistic Buddhism has flourished across the fivecontinents. The theme of the conference, “Faith and Legacy,” is the hope thatBLIA members continue the lineage of the Dharma by passing on their faithgeneration to generation. At the same time, I would thank everyone for theirrecognition in nominating me as the seventh BLIA President, as well as LiuChangle and Liu Chao-Ming as Deputy Presidents. Venerable Tzu Jung wasappointed as Acting President, Wu Chih-yang as Legal Affairs Officer, C. JimChen as Treasurer, and Ven. Chueh Pei as Secretary General. We will continue toserve the members of BLIA, aspiring to work unitedly for the development of Humanistic Buddhism across the globe.

In October, the Fifth World Buddhist Forum was held in Putian,Fujian Province, Mainland China with representatives from 55 countries andregions. I was invited to lead around 20 international representatives from FoGuang Shan and delivered a keynote speech on behalf of Venerable Master. Ourvenerables also presented on the development of Humanistic Buddhism worldwide, receiving much feedback from fellow participants who praised Venerable Master’svision and Fo Guang Shan’s groundbreaking efforts in the internationalizationof Buddhism. Venerable Master believes that all magnanimous people understandthe concept of equality. Therefore, if a person wishes to make themselves greater, they need to possess a mind of equality.

In March, BLIA participated for the first time as a United NationsNGO in the 62nd Commission for the Status of Women (CSW62), represented by Ven.Chueh Pei, Ven. Yung Ku, Ven. Man Chien, Ven. Jue Cheng, and Ven. You Wang whoshared how Venerable Master realizes the spirit of equality. Students from NanHua Temple Performing Arts Group, South Africa, also attended and discussedpersonal experiences about how their lives as village girls in Africa weretransformed.

In November, the largest interfaith event worldwide, the Parliamentof the World’s Religions, was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, withrepresentatives from 80 countries. Venerables from Fo Guang Shan branch templesin North America presented in a panel on “Humanistic Buddhism: Education forWomen and Girls.” At the conference, FGS Toronto and Buddha’s Light Publicationsjointly hosted a booth to promote books published by Fo Guang Shan, such asWhere is the Way: Humanistic Buddhism for Everyday Life. Concurrently at theThird Peace Conference (Vredesconferentie) in the Netherlands, Ven. Miao Yifrom FGS He Hua Temple was invited to speak as the only Buddhist representativeand female speaker, delivering a speech in English on the theme of theconference, “Creating an Integrated Society.”

Broadening Human WorldAffinities Through Globalized Communities

The acceptance and recognition of Humanistic Buddhism by peoplearound the world is the result of the efforts of both monastics and laity inspreading the Buddha’s compassion and wisdom.

In January, in celebration of Dharma Day, which commemorates theawakening of the Buddha, over 2.5 million bowls of Laba Congee were distributedby the Executive Council and branch temples with the help of monastic and laymembers.

Beginning in 2014, Fo Guang Shan Monastery, Buddha Museum, and ZuLai Temple in Brazil have been Winners of TripAdvisor Certificates ofExcellence for five consecutive

years, and are now listed in TripAdvisor’s Hall of Fame. The BuddhaMuseum was also featured in The New Zealand Herald, most circulated newspaperin New Zealand. Additionally, Pick it Up!: Chan Stories to Inspire published byBuddha’s Light Publications won a Bronze Living Now Evergreen Book Medal forSpiritual Leadership. Moreover, Beautiful Life Television (BLTV)’s 3D AnimationI Love Happiness received its 13th award―the Colortape InternationalFilm Festival Top 10 Animation Award―and was also shortlisted for the 53rdGolden Bell Award for Best Animation.

110 years after scouting began in England and developed according toChristian values, the Buddha’s Light Scout Group became the first Buddhist Scoutinggroup established in the UK, unprecedented in the country’s scouting history.This drew attention from The Guardian, BBC, and ITV, a historical milestone interms of the development of Humanistic Buddhism in a multireligious Europe.

In addition, Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple Christchurch received the2018 Christchurch Street and Garden Award. FGS Miami received a proclamationfrom the Mayor to the City of Tamarac, Harry Dressler, declaring the month of May as Sakyamuni Buddha’s Birthday Month, and May 20th as SakyamuniBuddha Thanksgiving Day.

In November, Hsi Lai Temple celebrated its 30th Anniversary. SenatorLing Ling Chang, the first Taiwanese-American female US senator, and SenatorBob Archuleta, presented an American flag flown over the United States Capitolto the abbot, Ven. Hui Dong. It is the highest honor that commends Hsi LaiTemple’s contributions to American society.

As Fo Guang Shan enters its 53rd year, Venerable Master says, “In mylife, there is no self. My life belongs to all. What matters is serving themultitude with an aspiring mind.” As long as we follow Venerable Master’sspirit of selflessness and practice the Five Precepts, Ten Wholesome Deeds, SixParamitas, Four Means of Embracing, Three Acts of Goodness, and Four Givings,Humanistic Buddhism will shine in the world.

Consequently, a Pure Land on Earth will be realized through the FiveHarmonies: individual harmony achieved through joy, interpersonal harmonyachieved through respect, family harmony achieved through deference, social harmony achieved through cooperation, and world harmony achieved through peace.May these words serve as encouragement to all.